Learning As We Go
by Nightlingbolt
Summary: They thought they knew what it meant to be strong, but that worldview was smashed to bits by a combination of Fairies and Demons. Sting and Minerva take their new lease on life day by day and learn as they go. After all, that's what the strong do, right? Stinerva Week submissions.
1. First Date

**Hey guys, Nightlingbolt here. Welcome to my set of Stinerva Week prompts.**

 **I'd like to think I was one of the first Stinerva shippers, or at least one of the first to guess that Minerva's childhood... kinda sucked. I mean, she was glad Sting blasted Jiemma, so I imagined there was at least _some_ reason she hated him. Of course, a normal person probably would've guessed she wanted control of Sabertooth, but hey.**

 **I probably didn't do that great a job of encompassing the whole "First Date" prompt thing stuff whatever, but the idea was that Sting was kinda panicking about his impending date with Minerva, so...**

 **I like how I just thought of this the day after the fact. Sounds just like me. Just read the damn story.**

 **I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does.**

* * *

Sting was nervous.

No, scratch that. He was frickin' terrified.

He had been invited, as Sabertooth's Master, to Blue Pegasus's Blue Harvest Ball, along with four members of his choice. Rogue, Orga, Rufus, and Lector had been given the nod, but that was mostly to accommodate Yukino and Minerva as two plus-ones. Rufus was bringing his new boyfriend, Orga had asked a girl from town, Rogue and Yukino were going together, and Lector was taking Frosch as friends to ensure their whole circle of friends would make it.

Which left Sting with the Lady of Sabertooth herself, Minerva Orlando.

Minerva was Sting's date by default – there was no way he'd get the balls to ask her otherwise. While most of the Strongest Five hadn't shown much worry for Minerva after their loss to Fairy Tail, Sting was worried beyond belief. Though objectively he knew why she disappeared, he couldn't stop himself from thinking he had driven his Lady away with his refusal to attack the weakened Fairy Tail members. He and the others had been more or less forced to digest their loss in order to overcome the Dragon invasion, and while Rogue had told him she needed to come to terms with the defeat her own way, he'd had a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach that he told himself would go away. After all, she was Sabertooth's strongest mage. She could handle herself.

But when Erza's letter came, the dread turned into full-blown panic. She had joined Succubus Eye, a dark guild from which Jiemma had recruited several members, who, when prompted, told him that Jiemma controlled the guild through a proxy Master, and had most likely assumed full leadership, but more alarmingly, was a subordinate guild to Tartarus.

Fearing the worst, he had gathered the rest of Team Sabertooth for a raid on Succubus Eye, only to discover many paper dolls, and clothes that had Minerva's scent on them. For a while, they had no leads on the dark guild, at least not until hearing that Laxus had absorbed an attack meant to kill a whole town.

Playing on Fairy Tail's desire for revenge, Sabertooth traveled to Magnolia, hoping they would lead them to their Lady. Eventually, they saw Fairy Tail's Exceeds flying somewhere with cards in their paws, which Rufus confirmed as the Fairy Tail Guild.

Declaring that Fairy Tail was going to war, Sting ordered Rufus, Orga, and Yukino back to Sabertooth while he and Rogue flew up to follow the Fairies. Eventually, they had heard Minerva's shouts to Erza and arrived just in time to save her from Mard Geer, and the rest was history.

It was funny how saving someone from a dark guild could change them so much. Before, Minerva had been an unattainable beauty, cold and unfeeling, as a member of the strongest guild should be. Despite being held in the same regard by their Master, there were no true equals in Sabertooth. Everyone was either stronger than you or weaker than you, and if you tied with someone, you were both considered unfit for Sabertooth and made to erase your guild marks.

That was Minerva in a nutshell. Trained to a horrifying extent, she was unsurpassed within Sabertooth,except by her own father. If Sting had dared display any hint of attraction to her, he knew he would be driven from Sabertooth in the most humiliating way possible.

Now, in the days since the Fairies went to war with Zeref's Demons, Sting was confident Minerva's true nature was starting to shine through. Since returning, she had become kinder – much more so than anyone ever thought her capable (though Yukino claimed to have seen this side of her before). She had developed friendships in and out of Sabertooth, though pretty much no one from Mermaid Heel could be considered friendly to her, least of all Kagura. But then again, no one from Sabertooth liked Kagura much either for her insistence that Yukino's life belonged to her (the closest thing she had to a friend in Sabertooth was Rogue, and even then he was nowhere near sympathetic to her claims).

But more to the point, Minerva had opened up considerably to Sting. True, there was still so much she didn't dare reveal to him, but where before she had called him Master because he had defeated their leader, the strongest, she now did so out of a newfound sense of loyalty and devotion. Still, even she was not above poking fun at Sting and questioning his more impulsive decisions (In fact, she was the sharpest-tongued of them all).

Frosch had made an offhand comment about Minerva being in love with Sting, which, considering it was Frosch, Sting wouldn't have paid attention to if Minerva hadn't reacted so strongly that a fight almost broke out between her and Rogue. That was two weeks before the Ball, and hopefully, Sting would find out if what he thought were hopeless feelings weren't so hopeless after all.

"That was Yukino," said Rogue as he was fiddling with a Miniature Communication Lacrima. "The girls are ready." Judging by his annoyed expression, white didn't seem to be his favorite color (Yukino had insisted on reversing their color choices for once).

"Well, let's get the hell on with this thing!" said Sting.

"Rufus and Albion won't be joining us right away," said Orga. "They say they want to show up fashionably late. I don't really care for the concept, but... eh."

"Well, of course!" said Lector. "At a fancy party like this, you can't make an entrance right away!"

"Fro thinks so too!" agreed Frosch.

"I'm pretty sure it's the host that needs to be fashionably late," said Sting.

"Fro thinks so too!" said Frosch.

"Hey, whose side are you on anyway?!" said Lector angrily.

"Rogue's," said Frosch innocently.

"Rogue-kun didn't even say anything!" yelled Lector.

"Whatever," said Rogue. "We need to get going. Sting, lead the..." He trailed off upon seeing that Sting had already left.

"...Way..." Rogue finished in disbelief.

"For the love of..." Orga muttered.

"Sting-kun must really want to see how our Lady looks," said Lector slyly.

"He loooves her!" said Frosch.

"We really need to keep you away from Happy-kun," said Lector.

* * *

Sting knocked on the door to the girls' hotel room. "Okay, fellas, this is it," he said. "Let's do this right!" He struck a pose, only for it to slack once he realized he had left his comrades behind.

"Crap, I can't face the Lady alone!" he muttered to himself. Slapping himself on the hand, he said, "Calm down, Sting. You're the famous White Dragon. Just play it cool." No sooner had he said that than a chorus of _"WhatdoIdo? WhatdoIdo? WhatdoIdo? WhatdoIdo?"_ started repeating in his head.

"That's not playing it cool at all!" Sting yelled out loud.

"...Who exactly are you talking to, Sting?" Minerva's voice cut in.

"Ah! Princess!" Sting exclaimed. "Uh... no one, I mean, me, I mean..."

However, words failed Sting the moment he turned to face Minerva. She was wearing a sky-blue cheongsam emblazoned with a silvery-white Eastern dragon, along with elbow-length white gloves, and her hair was tied up in a small bun on either side.

"Ah," said Minerva playfully. "I see my beauty has struck you dumb, Master."

"I...I..." Sting stammered. Finally, he forced out, "You look pretty!"

He regretted the words as soon as he said them. Pretty? No, his Lady was beautiful, every bit as much a goddess as the War God whose magic she commanded!

Minerva, however, took comfort in the simple compliment. "Thank you, Sting," she said with a light blush. However red her face looked, Sting's looked tenfold that color.

"Where are the others?" asked Yukino from inside the hotel room.

"Huh?" said Sting looking around, once more aware of his male companions' absence. "Uh... they said to go on ahead... that we'd meet up at the party..."

"You ran off ahead of them, didn't you?" Minerva deadpanned.

"I... couldn't wait to see you?" Sting supplied.

"Ih Rag-" Minerva started to chant. However, Yukino's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Now don't you go mussing up Sting-sama's face just before your first date," Yukino scolded gently.

Minerva uttered an exclamation in the Yakuma language, then replied, "This is not a date, Yukino!" rather irritably.

"Fair enough," said Yukino, holding her hands up in surrender. "Talk to me again after the first slow song."

Minerva blushed in earnest as Yukino excused herself to the bathroom. "She's become quite bold since her return," she commented.

"Ah, she's just giving us shit," said Sting. "That's what friends are supposed to do, right? Especially before a date."

"Yes," said Minerva. She felt much better now that Sting called their impending outing a date. And though neither one knew what a date entailed, at least they had their friends to learn with and from.

Compared to Jiemma's Sabertooth, that made all the difference in the world to them.

* * *

 **Eh, not my favorite ending. I kinda wanted to get this up at a decent hour, since I had to go to my cousins' graduation party Saturday, and Sunday was Mother's Day, and I kinda wanted to get this prompt up while it was a decent hour. So anyway, off to post tomorrow's prompt - or today's, since in my haste I didn't add any commentary and all this is after the fact. So, I'll see you all in a few minutes.**


	2. Cooking

**Hey guys! Day Two of Stinerva Week, coming at ya!**

 **I feel like this went better than First Date, mostly because I covered a topic that's at the forefront of why I ship Stinerva to begin with. I also think I have a better grasp on Minerva's character in this chapter, which is saying something. How do you write an alpha bitch who's only being treated with kindness for the first time in her life (even though this is a year removed from the Tartarus arc)? Ah well, hope you enjoy this either way.**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does.**

* * *

Even a year removed from her time in Tartarus, Minerva still felt sometimes like she didn't fully belong in Sting's incarnation of Sabertooth. Yes, she had learned to joke with her guildmates, but calling them nakama still felt strange to her. Though she had managed to put on a facade, she (and perhaps her friends) knew that even a year of true friendship couldn't fully erase a lifetime of having strength as her defining trait beaten into her.

But that didn't matter right now. She had completed a simple job (Sting wouldn't let her take any long jobs today for whatever reason), and she looked forward to an evening of relaxation. Perhaps she would indulge herself in that bath soap Yukino had given her for her birthday. The renegade dark mage she defeated had turned out to be a former member of Succubus Eye, which triggered memories of Tartarus, and of her forced Demonization, and she wanted nothing more than simple comfort at the moment. Having arrived at her apartment complex, Minerva turned the key and stepped inside...

...And regretted it instantly.

A plume of smoke emanating from the kitchen and the smell of burnt metal greeted the Territory mage. For a moment, she stood in stunned disbelief, before her eyes found - and would have killed if they were able - her idiot and incompetent chef of a Guild Master. "Sting..." she said dangerously. "What is this... travesty?"

"Oh... Princess," said Sting sheepishly. "You're back already."

"I was gone longer than I anticipated being," Minerva deadpanned.

"I wanted to surprise you..." said Sting.

"Well, consider me surprised. I had not expected my _new pot_ to be utterly destroyed so soon after I paid _15,000 Jewels_ for it!," said Minerva, her voice growing more venomous with each word.

"It wasn't supposed to turn out this way, I swear!"

"You _know_ you have no business preparing food!" said Minerva furiously. "Do you remember the fiasco that was the guild's Founding Brunch? _At all?!_ And where in the name of Yakuma is Lector?! Surely he would never allow you to embark on such _idiocy!_ "

She was answered by a nervous shuffling of paws from under the table, which turned out to be Sting's red-furred companion. "...Hi, Lady..." Lector greeted nervously.

She stared down at Lector imperiously. "Lector... please tell me you did not condone Sting preparing food," she said. "Lie to me if you have to, I don't care!"

"Sting-kun wanted to make a nice meal for you to celebrate you coming back to Sabertooth!" Lector cried. "I swear I told him to have Rogue-kun and Yukino-chan help him, but he said it was his responsibility as your Master to do it himself... He just wouldn't listen!" By this point, Lector was bawling. "You know how Sting-kun can get! In terms of pure stubbornness, he can surpass all of Fairy Tail put together! I told him you'd be angry with him, but-"

"Sting..." Minerva said in disbelief. "Is this true?"

"I... Yes, Milady," Sting admitted.

Minerva was absolutely floored by this admission. Even a year later, kindness was still a relatively new concept in Sabertooth - especially to her - so to hear that her Master, the man she had become wholly devoted to as she began her slow climb out of the darkness, had insisted on celebrating her return to Sabertooth in such a way, despite not knowing the first thing about the way he had chosen to do so, was almost enough to bring her to tears. "Fool," she said, willing her eyes to stop watering. "I never asked for this!"

"Good thing too," said Lector. "That way, at least you're not disappointed, yeah?"

"Sh-shut up, Lector!" said Sting, clearly embarrassed by the whole endeavor.

"Well, since your little... gift, for want of a better term... didn't exactly pan out, I shall prepare a meal for us," said Minerva. "I happen to have spaghetti and meatballs I was saving for the weekend.

"Um... actually..." said Sting, going over to the stove and revealing two pots, one full of burnt pasta, the other crusty sauce and blackened balls of meat.

"Of course," sighed Minerva angrily. There went that plan. "Fine. We'll have grilled cheese and tomato. You will watch me cook yours, and you will repeat what I have done when cooking mine. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Milady!" said Sting, happy enough that Minerva was allowing him to save face on his plan.

* * *

As it turned out, grilled cheese was easy enough for Sting to grasp. Minerva's sandwich was a little burnt, but she had nipped that problem in the bud. Either way, it was a stepping stone, and she would have to teach him a few more simple recipes before even thinking of letting him cook something like spaghetti and meatballs.

But there was something still bugging her about what Sting had hoped to accomplish. "Tell me something," said Minerva. "You have the whole of the Sabertooth Guild at your disposal, including many members who are undoubtedly better chefs than you could ever hope to be. Yet you still insist upon preparing me a celebratory meal yourself. Why, then, do you not at least allow Rogue and Yukino to assist you?"

Sting was silent for a moment, pondering Minerva's question. Finally, he spoke. "I guess it was just a matter of pride for me," he said.

"I heard Lector the first time," said Minerva. "He said as Master you felt it was down to you to do it."

"That's... part-true, at least," said Sting. "The truth is, when you left, I couldn't help feeling it was all my fault."

"What?"

"I surrendered to Fairy Tail," said Sting. "I blew our big chance to win the Grand Magic Games. If I had won - at least in my mind - you wouldn't have had any reason to leave. And I felt it was down to me to save you, to bring you back."

"Was that seriously your entire motivation this whole time?" said Minerva angrily. "I haven't thought about that loss in a year! Not since I came back! If you had defeated Fairy Tail, we would have learned nothing of what it means to have comrades! Yes, I would have stayed, but I would never have learned it was okay to be weak so long as I could be strong with my guild!"

"So stop blaming yourself for my arrogance! There is accepting the burden of your comrades, and then there is accepting needless blame! My transgressions are my own, and I can live with them because..." At this, she looked down blushing.

"Because?" Sting prompted.

"Because I have a kind Master who can show me the way," Minerva finished. "One whom, for the first time I have true loyalty. And one whom I trust..."

She leaned in and cupped Sting's face in her hand. His face grew redder with each passing second. Their lips were so close...

"...Will replace the new pot he ruined by this time next week," she finished, gripping Sting's chin like a vice.

"Owowowowow! I will! I promise! Now let go!" said Sting in pain.

"Good," said Minerva. "Now, hopefully you failed to ruin dessert?"

"He was willing to buy that, at least," said Lector.

"There is a God," declared Minerva.

* * *

 **Okay, _much_ better ending this time! Honestly, I love when I can come up with these trollish endings. But I will say, while I'm happy Minerva got her redemption, she doesn't really have much character shown post-Tartarus. I hope that changes in the next few chapters. So until tomorrow's prompt (which I should probably work on now), good night from Nightlingbolt.  
**


	3. Jealousy

**And now for the sounded-way-better-in-my-head entry into Stinerva Week. Don't believe me? Read on and see.**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does.**

* * *

Minerva was head over heels for Sting.

It was plain as day to Yukino. The Lady of Sabertooth, once feared throughout their guild, was carrying a flame Natsu Dragneel would be proud of for their idiot Master. She supposed that was what happens when someone saves you from a guild full of demons. Demons specifically created to kill Zeref, no less.

But Yukino noticed that Minerva had never acted on her feelings, preferring to hide behind her abrasive personality whenever confronted with the issue. That or whatever whim Sting had on a given day. She would have to do something about that at some point.

"I mean, could it be any more obvious?" Lector was telling her, Rogue, and Frosch. "Our Lady looks at Sting-kun like I've never seen her look at anyone before!" Yukino could only ever agree with that statement.

"Fro noticed too!" said Frosch. "Lady loves Sting! Lady loves Sting! Lady loves-"

"Quiet!" Rogue hissed. For at that moment, Minerva Orland herself **(Is it Orland or Orlando? I can never decide.)** was approaching them.

"Oh, Minerva-sama!" said Yukino. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Thank you, Yukino, but no," said Minerva. "I was simply looking for Sting, so as to report my mission to him."

"Sting-sama's at the back table with Orga-sama," said Yukino. "They seem to be having a singing contest."

"Thank you, Yukino, I was trying to tune that out," said an annoyed Rogue.

True to Yukino's words and Rogue's exasperation, Sting and Orga were singing loudly to each other. The guild members near them seemed to find it obnoxious, especially Rufus, who had somehow been roped into judging their little competition.

Minerva grimaced. "Why has no one bothered to stop them?" she asked.

"Are you nuts?! We all want to keep our hearing, yeah?!" said Lector.

"Fro likes Sting and Orga's singing!" said Frosch.

Minerva sighed. She then started moving her arms in a circle. "Niel Wieg Mion, Derse Elcantaeus, Yagdo Rigora!" she chanted.

A Sting-sized statue appeared, which detonated and caused an explosion large enough to blow up the table the boys were sitting at, plus everyone half a dozen feet away.

"...Call it a draw?" asked Sting.

"Mhm," grunted Orga. Clearly he wanted to anger Minerva as much as Sting.

Suddenly, an impulse ran through Yukino's brain. "I'm going to try something stupid," she whispered to Rogue. Without another word, she hurried over to where Minerva's spell had blown Sting.

Putting on the most sickeningly sweet voice she could muster, she said, "Oh no! Sting-sama! Aww, did mean old Minerva-sama not like your sexy voice?"

"It was Orga's voice she didn't... you think my voice is sexy?" replied a confused Sting.

"Oh, yes, Sting-sama!" Yukino simpered. "It's so strong and manly, women everywhere fall for it!"

Sneaking a glance at Minerva, Yukino saw mild annoyance on her face. _"Good,"_ she thought. _"Minerva-sama is reacting exactly like I expected. I just hope she sees fit to let me live after this."_

"Women everywhere, huh?" said Sting. "I quite like the sound of that."

"Oh, and that's not the only thing women love about you, _Master,_ " said Yukino, emphasizing Sting's title. "There are your muscles. So lean... so firm... so... _dominating._ "

By now, the whole guild was staring at Yukino. They had never before heard their cute Celestial Mage act so provocatively before. In fact, the attention was starting to get to Yukino herself, and not in a way that she liked. But she could live with the embarrassment if it meant her plan was working. And judging by Minerva's restrained growls, it was working perfectly.

"And then there's your perfect abdomen," Yukino continued. "Mmm, one good look at this tight six-pack gets women drooling, staring into space, dreaming of running their wet tongues straight up your chest."

Minerva's growls turned into full-fledged snarls, and Yukino was starting to have serious second thoughts about her spur-of-the-moment plan. Clearly, Sting's impulsive nature had rubbed off on her.

"But we can't forget the sexiest part of any Dragon Slayer, now can we?" asked Yukino. "His scent." She leaned into Sting's neck, took a big sniff, and gave an exaggerated sigh. "Mmmm, Sting-sama's sexy scent drives me crazy! So yummy... so good!"

Thankfully, that was the last straw for Minerva, as she gave an inhuman screech and made to strike Yukino. Thankfully, Libra had summoned herself to increase her gravity to a point where she could barely move.

"Lady?! Yukino?! What the hell is going on?!" said Sting, having been shocked out of his stroked ego by Minerva's rage.

"She dared... She tried..." Minerva was struggling to speak coherently. "...Mine!"

Yukino looked at Minerva warily. Deciding she was out of immediate danger, she signaled Libra to restore her normal gravity. No sooner than she could move freely did the Territory mage place a hungry kiss on Sting's lips. The entire guild oohed and ahhed at this sight. Some clapped, some whistled, all approved.

When Minerva pulled away, she cast a defiant glare all across the room. "Anyone else?" she asked threateningly. No one dared to reply.

With her goal accomplished, there was no further need to act, and Yukino reverted to her apologetic state. "I'm sorry, Minerva-sama! And Sting-sama!" she said. "I only wanted... I saw my excuse... and..."

Minerva's sharp gaze turned to Yukino. "Explain," she commanded.

"When your explosion blew Sting-sama away, I took the opportunity to act overly friendly with him," said Yukino. "I was hoping to get enough of a reaction out of you that you would admit your feelings for Sting-sama."

"Not gonna lie, that was kind of a dick move, Yukino," said Sting.

"I acted impulsively," Yukino confessed. "I will accept any punishment."

"I'll leave that for our Lady to decide," said Sting. "Right now, she and I need to meet privately to discuss the matter." With that, Sting walked over to his office, still confused by all that had occurred.

Walking back to Rogue and the Exceeds, Yukino gave a low groan. "Well, Sting should be clearly aware of Minerva's feelings by now," said Rogue.

"Yes," said Yukino. "But now I've gone and made an enemy of Minerva-sama!"

"The Lady will forgive you," said Lector. "Right after she's done watching you suffer."

"...That's hardly any comfort, Lector-sama," said Yukino.

Suddenly, Rufus groaned in pain. Apparently, he had been knocked out from the impact of slamming against a table. Everyone stopped what they were doing to focus on the Memory mage.

"Ugh... Even when holding back, the Lady Minerva's magic is still quite fearsome," he said. "So what have I missed?"

Everyone pointed at Yukino, and all the humiliation she had felt from her flirting came flooding back with a crushing weight.

 **Yeah, so, the idea was that Yukino was trying to get Minerva jealous enough to stop her from "stealing" Sting, but halfway through, I realized, "This is way out of character for Yukino! Like, completely!" So that led to Yukino thinking about how embarrassing the whole situation was, and slightly panicking because Minerva would likely kill her for this, and a near-complete breakdown when all was said and done. Also, don't ask where Yukino learned to be so amorous. It's funnier that way.**

 **So with this travesty of a prompt fulfillment, good night from Nightlingbolt!**


	4. Milady

**Hey guys, sorry this didn't go up yesterday. Half the day was spent on the planning stages for this chapter, mostly because I wanted to at least try to write a convincing Rufus. Hopefully I did. Oh well, I'll leave that for you to judge.**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail or its members, Hiro Mashima does. I own Beedle and Coolidge, as well as the Magic Item Color-Out.**

* * *

Rufus was scribbling on a memo pad. Even though he found the things useless himself thanks to the perfect memory his magic, what he was writing was for the benefit of Orga.

Recently, the two had entered a partnership of sorts. Though his singing voice was atrocious, Orga's melodies were quite sound when played upon a guitar. Despite this, Rufus had always found his lyrics... lacking. _Sorely_ lacking. So Rufus proposed that Orga set a couple of his poems to music, and they both liked what they heard, forming what Orga called "the best new singer/songwriter duo in Fiore."

Rufus had his doubts about that. While people told him he had a good singing voice, his and Orga's styles were far too different to mesh together as a duo. While Rufus was more inclined to sensitive, introspective folk melodies, Orga was a bombastic rocker through and through. Besides which, he defied anyone to form a passable harmony with Orga Nanagear of all people.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rufus noticed the return of a couple members who hadn't been at the guild when Minerva had returned. He searched his memory for their names, and found them to be called Beedle and Coolidge. The former was a Take Over mage who specialized in insects, and the latter could use Ice magic in several different colors to varying effects.

"So get this," said Coolidge. "While we were gone, Sting let Minerva back in! I mean, _Minerva!_ Jiemma's psycho daughter! The one who walked out on us when we lost the Games!"

"Seriously?" replied Beedle. "I thought Sting was trying to _erase_ Jiemma's presence from this guild! That beast of a woman singlehandedly sets back everything Sting's worked for!"

"Exactly!" said Coolidge. "And here's the best part! Apparently, the Twin Dragons rescued her from a dark guild. A fucking dark guild, Beedle!"

"She probably realized how weak the guild was when the Twin Dragons destroyed them and begged Sting to let her back in," said Beedle snidely.

"Well, I wouldn't have, no question," said Coolidge. "She had to steal Kagura's defeat from Erza, she tortured that catgirl because she got bored waiting for their fight to end, she took Sting's cat hostage – I mean, who lets someone like that back in after they pull that shit on you?!"

"And that's without mentioning that brutal beatdown of the Fairy Tail girl," said Beedle. "Barbaric, is what she is. Just like her father. Clearly, Sting has no clue how to run a guild if he tolerates such an ugly stain on Sabertooth."

"No common sense in Sting's head," said Coolidge.

"None whatsoever," agreed Beedle.

Unbeknownst to them, Rufus had heard the whole conversation – while not nearly as acute as a Dragon Slayer's, his hearing was nonetheless good enough to listen in on conversations from opposite ends of the guild hall. Closing up his memo pad, he left to go report the conversation to Sting.

When he entered Sting's office, he found the White Dragon absentmindedly playing with his pen, along with Lector napping on his desk. Either he had hit a snag in his paperwork, or he was outright goofing off.

Rufus made his presence known with a cough. That got Sting's attention, and he addressed the Memory mage. "Oh, Rufus, great!" he said. "Do you remember the amount this month's expense report said? 'Cause Frosch drew on it when Rogue was helping out earlier, and he kinda blotted out the final total."

"...How would I remember that?" asked Rufus.

"Well, you have that badass memory you're always boasting about, so..."

"I don't remember the expense report, Sting!" said an annoyed Rufus.

"Why not?!" whined Sting.

"Because I never see it!" said Rufus angrily. "The expense report is your responsibility, not mine!"

"But I need you, man!" said Sting dramatically.

"Clearly what you need is to not allow Frosch in your office while you're working!" countered Rufus. "Those two may have been on to something with their comments."

"What comments?" demanded Sting. "Someone said something about me?"

Rufus cursed inwardly. He didn't think he said that last remark out loud. "Apparently, Beedle and Coolidge don't think you have the common sense necessary to run a guild."

"They do? Well, screw 'em," said Sting. "I don't see those bastards offering to do my paperwork. They think they can do better, tell 'em I'm willing to trade places for a week."

"Don't, Rufus-kun," said Lector sleepily, having been woken up from the prior argument. "Sting-kun looks for any excuse to avoid paperwork."

"You hush!" said Sting. "This is a man's pride that's at stake!"

"The only thing at stake is a week's vacation," said Lector.

"The week's vacation is a bonus," said Sting firmly.

"Yes, Sting-kun. Whatever you say," said Lector nonchalantly.

"Damn straight," said Sting cockily. "Whatever _I_ say."

"I should also mention their words came as part of a criticism of your allowing the Lady Minerva back into the guild," said Rufus.

Sting's face turned from cockiness to anger. "Our Lady wants to better herself, just like the rest of the guild," he said. "Can I trust you to remind them of that?"

"Yes, but I doubt they'll listen," said Rufus. "To describe the Lady, they used such terms as 'psycho,' 'barbaric,' and "an ugly stain on Sabertooth, along with open declarations that she sets back everything you've worked for and that she begged you to let her back in after realizing her new guild was weak."

Though he wouldn't let Sting see it, having to repeat those foul words incensed Rufus as much as he was sure they did his Master. Sure enough, he heard a low growl come from the Dragon Slayer's mouth.

"Rufus," he seethed. "Find Beedle and Coolidge, and tell them to erase their guild marks. If I go, I don't think I'm stopping myself from ripping them apart."

"You can't expel them!" shouted Lector.

"Why not?" said Sting meancingly. "The Lady is a Sabertooth member. She's one of us! If those assholes can't accept that, they don't deserve to be in this guild!"

"I know," said Lector. "But all they did was express an opinion. No matter how horrible it is, if you throw them out now, you're sending a message that your opinion matters above all others. Jiemma valued power above all else, and he tossed aside anyone who he thought didn't have it! Essentially you'd be throwing them out for disagreeing you, and that would make you as much of a tyrant as he was!"

"Also, may I remind you that you accepted Minerva back as if it were a matter of course," said Rufus. "While you and I know better, from an objective perspective, she abandoned Sabertooth because of our loss in the Grand Magic Games." Sting flinched at this, but Rufus ignored it. "It was a betrayal of trust, and some members still need to be assured that the Lady can be trusted again."

"The guild welcomed the Lady with open arms when we brought her home!" protested Sting.

"Not everyone in Sabertooth was present upon the Lady's return," Rufus pointed out. "That includes Beedle and Coolidge. However, those who were saw that you and Rogue were completely at ease around her, and as their Master and his second-in-command, they took it as a sign that they could trust her as well. But for members such as Beedle and Coolidge, who only just returned to find Jiemma's daughter among their ranks once more, they only see the ruthless mage that made an enemy of Fairy Tail by needlessly assaulting their Celestial mage to near-death, essentially making her her father's daughter in their eyes.

"So what would you have me do?" asked Sting. "I don't care if they talk shit about me, but Minerva... she doesn't deserve their trash..."

Rufus took note of Sting's clenched fists. Clearly, Minerva was as much his Lady as she was Sabertooth's. "Assign the Lady Minerva to a mission with Beedle and Coolidge," he suggested. "Punish them by forcing them to work with someone they consider detrimental to Sabertooth. Hopefully, in the process, they'll learn to trust her enough to change their opinions of her into more positive ones, opinions that fall more in line with your goal of creating a guild that values its comrades."

Sting sighed. "I'll do that," he said. "Go find a good job for them to take."

"I know just the one," said Rufus confidently. As he opened the door to leave, he saw Minerva herself standing in the doorway. "Sting, I'm here to collect the expense report to deliver to the Council," she announced.

"Huh?" said Sting. "Oh! That! Actually, Frosch kinda scribbled on it. Do we have any Color-Out?"

Minerva sighed. "I thought you would have known by now to keep Frosch away from important documents," she said.

"Well, if Rogue would just control his damn cat-!"

"Or if you could do paperwork on your own and leave Rogue to his own work..." said Minerva.

"He keeps offering!" said Sting. "Why would I say no?"

"Never mind," said Minerva, seeing the argument was pointless. "I'll get some more Color-Out."

"Great!" said Sting. "And when you get back, Rufus should have a job ready for you."

"A job?" repeated Minerva. Judging from her expression, Rufus guessed she doubted whether she was trusted enough for a job at this point.

"I trust you," said Sting seriously. "You belong here. Don't listen to anyone who says otherwise."

"...Okay?" said Minerva, now a little confused. "Well, I'm off."

She looked at Rufus expectantly, and he took that as a cue to step out with her. Just as they were about to go their separate ways, Minerva stopped him.

"Sting seems... oddly serious," she said. "Is everything well?"

"Sting only wishes to reassure you, Milady," said Rufus. "I'll go get you that job request."

As Rufus walked away, he thought about Minerva's impending quest. He and Sting were choosing to believe in the best of her to-be partners. He would have to inform them of the consequences of betraying that trust.

Hopefully he was half as frightening as Minerva could be.

* * *

 **Hmmm. That went longer than I thought it would.**

 **I wanted to show that not everyone was on board with Minerva coming back, at least not right away. Maybe Beedle and Coolidge were personally wronged by Minerva? Maybe their morals can't forgive how thuggish they think she makes Sabertooth look? I dunno.**

 **I didn't describe them because Rufus already knows what they look like, so for those interested, Beedle is short and stocky with thick glasses and black bowl-cut hair, and and Coolidge is tall, lanky, and bald. Yeah, I never really imagined them attractive in any sense of the word.**

 **So, now that this is done, Scars is already underway. I'd say I'm about a fifth of the way done with that, and if all goes to schedule, it goes up at 5 like usual. So I'll see you guys tonight then.**


	5. Scars

**And now, today's actual prompt! This time, Orga delves into his memories.**

 **Honestly, when I saw this prompt, I knew right away Orga was the only one who could fit this (besides Sting, of course). He's 23 to Rufus, Sting, and Rogue's 19, so I imagine he joined Sabertooth sooner rather than later. Hopefully it works! Enjoy!**

 **Also, sorry this is so late. Went out for a walk, didn't exactly realize the time.**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does.**

* * *

Being the oldest member of Sabertooth's Strongest Five, Orga prided himself as the big brother figure in his group of friends. While nowhere near as intelligent as Rufus, he understood a few things more than his contemporaries about life, about love, and about being a man.

However, Orga had one other distinction among Sabertooth that he shared with Minerva. He was one of the few remaining members from the regime before Jiemma's, so he was there for his rise to power. In those days, Jiemma had born a carefully cultivated persona of a grumpy old man who begrudgingly cared for the younger generations. It was this mask that inspired their previous Master to select Jiemma as his replacement when he retired. However, no sooner than when the old Master was out of his did Jiemma show his true colors - a tyrant of fearsome power, one no one bearing Sabertooth's mark dared to defy.

Soon enough, Orga adapted to Sabertooth's new "might makes right" policy, which turned out to have worked better than it had any right to. With Fairy Tail's core members having disappeared, Sabertooth went unchallenged as the strongest guild in the country. This newfound fame caused the Sabertooth members to abandon any thought that Jiemma's way was wrong - what did their Master's cruelty matter so long as they were uncontested champions?

For seven years, even Orga bowed to Jiemma's way of doing things, secure in the knowledge their guild was the strongest, not caring to ask questions. But then, everything changed when the White Dragon attacked. Sting's retaliation for Lector's would-be death (had Minerva not intervened), plus discovering the true power of Fairy Tail - and in Orga's case, the power of a Wizard Saint - caused everyone to take stock of how wrong they'd been under Jiemma.

The first steps to setting Sabertooth on the right path manifested themselves in various ways. Where Rufus never bothered to remember the lower members, he spent a day memorizing the names, faces, and magic of literally everyone in the guild. Sting had shed the arrogant personality he had adopted to appear strong for Jiemma in favor of what seemed to be a happier one, complete with all the impulsiveness of his idol, Natsu Dragneel (Orga still couldn't figure out whether that was Sting's true nature or if he was overcompensating). And Yukino, once dismissed as weak for losing one fight, was welcomed back by all of Sabertooth. The difference in her demeanor was worlds apart from when she first joined.

Though that's not to say everyone adapted to the post-Jiemma Sabertooth right away. Minerva had disappeared after their loss, surfacing after the fact as, according to Erza, a member of a dark guild known as Succubus Eye. Orga wasn't surprised to learn this, but he was shocked (and not in a way relating to his magic) to find he wasn't disappointed by this. He supposed that was because he knew his lady's past better than anyone.

When he first joined Sabertooth at age 14, there were barely any children among their ranks, though because he had mastered Lightning God Slayer magic, he had been welcomed straightaway. The only member of his generation at the time was 11-year-old Minerva, the daughter of their Ace member, Jiemma Orlando. He thought she was pretty, as boys his age generally think of girls. He tried to be friendly with her, but she vehemently refused every attempt at such, even going so far as to call him weak for wanting to be her friend.

A couple months on, Orga had been looking to train out in the forest, where he had room to use his magic freely. However, before he could unleash even his Bellow, he thought he had heard Jiemma yelling. Thinking the Ace had been hurt, he followed the sound to see if there was anything he could do to help.

What he found instead was Jiemma blasting at his daughter, berating her weakness. As the old man walked away after forcing Minerva to strip, Orga waited until he was sure he was gone before attempting to see if she was okay, only to be restrained by her Territory and begged not to say anything.

From then on until Jiemma took over, whenever he and Minerva returned from their training, Orga would flash a sad smile at Minerva. It was the best he could do to comfort her in the face of her father's popularity within the guild, but more importantly, her own safety would be compromised if he said anything.

After Jiemma became Guild Master, three years removed from when Orga joined, the training trips he would take Minerva on became less and less frequent until they stopped entirely. Satisfied that Minerva's tears had stopped, he focused all his attention on becoming strong and not staining the invincible reputation Jiemma had built for Sabertooth.

So to Orga, it stood to reason that Minerva would latch onto a dark guild. Power had literally defined Minerva her whole life, and now that her guild was no longer the strongest, she was desperate to feel that she was stronger than any legal mage.

But something had changed her when the Twin Dragons rescued her from Tartarus's base. Erza had explained it to Sting (who had later explained it to the rest of them), as her (finally) realizing that strength was hardly a defining feature of a guild so long as those who formed it loved and supported each other.

Apparently, it worked. Minerva had become kinder and more willing to associate with guild members, though she still retained a sharp edge when dealing with their loudness and the general silliness that had become common to their guild hall. However, she was especially gentle with Sting when he wasn't being stupid (which wasn't that often, really).

In all seriousness, the looks she gave her new Master were a far cry from the sad looks Orga had seen in their childhood, or the smirks and pointed glares that had become her trademark in recent years. They were happiness, as if whatever scars her father had inflicted were healed just by looking at him.

And that was the only thing keeping Orga from regretting his inaction back then.

 **...Wow. These last two chapters were really serious. Kinda rethinking that Humor genre label. Hopefully the next prompt is a little more lighthearted, but we'll see. Until then, good night from Nightlingbolt!**


	6. Kindness

**Alright, let's start this two-part late finish to Stinerva Week with Saturday's prompt: Kindness!**

 **I'm trying to switch between Lector and Frosch's perspectives for this one, so if it's kind of disjointed, I apologize. Hopefully you enjoy it all the same? Maybe? No? Too bad, I worked hard on this!**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does.**

* * *

The common perception among Sabertooth was that Minerva was just learning kindness for the first time. But Lector knew that their Lady could be kind when she wanted to be.

Frosch did, too.

When Lector and Frosch joined the guild, Minerva had warned them that Master Jiemma didn't like animals. She was, however, intrigued by them being talking cats, so she made a promise that as long as they kept their heads down, she would allow them to bear the guild's mark. And they had, though Lector had to keep Frosch out of trouble when it was just them.

Frosch wasn't that bad.

For some reason Lector didn't understand at the time, Minerva had taken a liking to him and Frosch. She had explained that since they were cats, nobody expected them to be strong like the rest of the guild. Lector supposed Sting and Rogue's influence helped curry favor with the young Lady. Otherwise, he and Frosch would be treated no better than pests.

Frosch wasn't a pest! Frosch was a frog!

However, Minerva did show Lector and Frosch her favor sometimes. She revealed to them her secret talent for cooking, and she used it to make the best grilled fish Lector had ever tasted.

Frosch liked Minerva's cooking too.

One day, Minerva felt comfortable enough to confide in Lector and Frosch that cooking was the closest thing she had to feeling like a normal person, rather than the daughter of the strongest man in the strongest guild. It was almost a release for her, which was why she took such pride in the skill, despite her father calling it useless.

Frosch compared the feeling to chasing a butterfly.

Soon enough, one secret turned into many, and Minerva kept cooking for them so long as they didn't reveal anything without her say-so. Lector knew the amount of trust his Lady put in his silence, and as a mage of Sabertooth, he would take her secrets to the grave if he had to.

Frosch never said anything either.

Eventually, Sting and Rogue lost against Natsu Dragneel. Though Sting was defeated, he showed off power Sabertooth could only ever be proud of, if only it was a guild like Fairy Tail. Sadly, Jiemma did not believe so, and tried to completely erase him with his magic.

Frosch remembered the terror of seeing his closest friend other than Rogue being wiped out. He still had nightmares about the ordeal. Only the idea that Minerva had saved Lector with her magic comforted him.

When Lector realized where he was, and why he had been spared from Jiemma's blast, some part of him had to smile upon realizing his Lady's kindness. Objectively, he was a hostage, meant to motivate Sting to win the Grand Magic Games for Sabertooth. If they won, Minerva would return him with no questions asked. But even so, for Sabertooth to lose, all five of their representatives had to be defeated, including Minerva. And if Minerva was defeated, the space she created with her magic would be canceled, and he'd be free to return to Sting after the tournament. So really, all Minerva did was save his life, and for her kindness, he'd always be grateful.

Frosch was grateful too.

Unfortunately, Lector didn't get to express his gratitude after the Games, specifically after the whole Dragon invasion business. Nevertheless, he would follow Sting in his new role as Guild Master, and he would help reshape Sabertooth into a guild that his Lady could be proud of.

Frosch wanted to change Sabertooth too. Because Rogue and Lector and Yukino and all the others were his friends. And Minerva was, too, wherever she had ended up.

One day, news of Minerva's activities surfaced. She had ended up in a dark guild called Succubus Eye. Half an hour earlier, Sting's teacup had cracked, which Minerva had taught him was a sign of ill fortune. Sting had believed, and he organized a trip to Succubus Eye's headquarters.

Frosch hadn't exactly known what those paper dolls he and the others found were, but he felt dread all the same, the same dread he felt when Jiemma made his attempt on Lector's life.

Lector was scared when Rufus announced he could sense residual human memories in Succubus Eye's base, and from there it didn't take a genius to figure out what those paper dolls were.

Frosch and Lector both chose to believe it wasn't too late to save their Lady, and so did their partners. Their only lead was that Laxus had been near-fatally attacked trying to protect a town, meaning their best chance was to ride Fairy Tail's coattails as they went to war with Tartarus.

So Lector and Frosch joined their partners in invading Tartarus's base. They had lost consciousness for a moment thanks to a spell called Alegria, but were revived just in time to hear Minerva's yells of apparent joy. The four of them had arrived just in time to save Minerva from Tartarus's leader, much to Lector's relief.

Frosch was relieved too.

After a brief exchange of words between Erza, their partners, and the man named Mard Geer, the battle had begun in earnest. Sting had ordered Lector and Frosch to go with Erza and make sure their Lady was safe. Frosch had wanted to fight too, but Lector told him all they could do was believe in Sting and Rogue, as well as their Lady.

They spent the rest of the battle doing just that, during which point Lily declared Sabertooth's mages were good people too, including Minerva. Lector felt validated that someone finally recognized his Lady's kindness.

Frosch told everyone so!

When the war ended and Minerva was returned to the guild, she tried to apologize to Sting for taking him hostage and using him as blackmail. They both brushed it off, citing the fact that her actions saved Lector's life, and Lector in particular was never worried about the what-ifs. Hearing this, Minerva hugged Sting as she cried tears of happiness, while Lector mused upon the fact that Sabertooth was entering a new era of kindness, led by his best friend and his Lady.

He couldn't wait to see how it unfolded.

Neither could Frosch.

* * *

 **Okay, I love Frosch, but his speech pattern makes it kind of awkward to switch perspectives with another character. Oh well.**

 **If all goes according to plan, you should be getting this at noon while Protect comes at... I wanna say 4 or so? So, see you then.**


	7. Protect

**Alright, let's wrap this up! Stinerva Week, final prompt, Protect, Rogue's perspective, go!**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does.**

* * *

Given that they were both Dragon Slayers – and of opposing elements at that – Rogue liked to think he understood Sting better than anyone else. They both liked to collect treasures. They both liked to prove their strength. And most importantly, they were both fiercely protective of what was precious to them, mainly the Sabertooth guild.

However, for a brief period, they slightly differed on how precious a certain member of said guild was – one Minerva Orlando. When Sting got news of her activities after the Grand Magic Games, he had insisted on bringing the once Lady of Sabertooth home. Rogue was against the idea, though perhaps not as adamantly as he should have been. He had cited that since Minerva was a dark mage now, it would mean unwanted questions and negative attention from the Magic Council if he welcomed her back into his guild. But Sting had all but stated he could deal with that so long as he could help Minerva change for the better, just like the rest of Sabertooth had.

Unbeknownst to Sting, there was a sentiment shared among a few members that Minerva's presence alone would preserve the cruel reputation Sabertooth held under Jiemma and was contrary to Sting's goal to eliminate that perception. Rogue was one of those members, and he shared their opinion that they were ashamed to be Sabertooth mages after Minerva's brutalization of Lucy Heartfilia. In fact, Rogue wanted to leave, but he couldn't bring himself to abandon Sting, no matter how cruel he would become.

Ultimately, Sting pulled rank, and Sabertooth's core members, except for Yukino, were to embark on a mission to Succubus Eye with the goal to extract Minerva and bring her home. Resigned to Sting's orders, Rogue decided that he would protect Minerva as a member of Sabertooth, but he would not take her return for granted, which changed when they had tracked her down at Tartarus's base.

Listening in on her conversation with Erza, Rogue was shocked to hear that Minerva considered death as an acceptable option for her own weakness. This gave him the impression that she was outgrowing Jiemma's Might Makes Right doctrine, just like the rest of his nakama. Deciding Minerva could learn to value her friends after all, he and Sting made their move.

The resulting clash with Mard Geer led into an unexpected confrontation with a demonized Jiemma, who revealed that from the very start, he never regarded Minerva as anything more than a tool. Now knowing for sure Minerva was nothing more than what her father had made her, Rogue felt a genuine desire to protect her, which manifested in Jiemma's ultimate defeat.

But then it came time for Minerva to rejoin Sabertooth. Most everyone was receptive to her return on the surface, but there were still those who regarded her as someone who compromised the guild's integrity. Of course, most of them never expressed such thoughts out loud, but there were a few bold enough to belittle her out loud, even implying that she was nothing more than a brutish oaf without Jiemma's policies guiding her, all without directly addressing her.

Rogue managed to witness a few of these incidents, thanks to the perpetrators being unaware of his enhanced Dragon hearing. He never told Sting about them, mostly because he wasn't sure what his friend could do about them. Legally, any mage expelled from a guild for expressing opinions, no matter how horrible, could claim censorship to the Magic Council, which would bring harsh sanctions to the guild in question. If only he could catch them outright harassing her!

Not that he wanted Minerva harassed, but it would be concrete proof.

* * *

One day, Rogue was chatting with Minerva about a book Rufus had recommended to them. They both seemed to enjoy it, but had differing views on the author's message.

"It's simple, Rogue," said Minerva impatiently. "The spider is a metaphor for innocence. Once the protagonist overcomes his fear of the spider, its death signifies the end of childhood."

"I don't see it," said Rogue. "When I see the spider, I see an oppressive government. The protagonist kills the spider because he's rebelling against a system that has failed him and his family."

"Fro thinks it's both!" said Frosch, who had been staring intently at Minerva.

Minerva looked surprised by this declaration, but was clearly thinking about it more. "Yes," she agreed. "I suppose rebelling against oppression is an end of innocence in its own way."

"Good on you, Frosch," Rogue complimented. Frosch's eyes lit up at the praise.

Suddenly, Rogue heard some wise guy calling Minerva "oppression Sabertooth faced every day." A couple people laughed at this. Rogue cringed until he heard Sting speak up.

"No one's forcing you to stay in Sabertooth," the White Dragon said angrily. "Minerva is a valued member of my guild, just like you are. But if you don't want her as a guildmate, just leave anytime. We'll even throw you a farewell dinner."

"...I can't leave," the guy said. "Sabertooth's the closest guild to where my Gram lives. She needs me!"

"That a fact, asshat?" growled Sting. "Then if you wanna support your Gram, you'll give the Young Lady the same respect you'd give anyone else in this guild! She hasn't done anything to you since she came back, so don't antagonize her unless she does you first! Get it?"

"G-got it!" the guy stammered.

"Doubt it," said Sting. "The young Miss knows she has a lot to answer for. Smartass comments aren't helping her to do that. If I hear anything else along those lines, I'm kicking the speaker out for conduct detrimental to the guild or its members." With that, he returned to his meal.

Conduct detrimental to the guild or its members! How did Rogue not figure that out earlier?! That was the reason Jiemma gave when he expelled someone! He called it detrimental to the guild to have failures in it!

Rogue made a mental note to visit Sting's office later. He was going to finally give Sting a way to protect Minerva from the harassment she'd been receiving.

 **Worst. Ending. Ever! But I'm done with Stinerva Week! I swear to God, I am definitely planning out my next ship week.**

 **Also, writing bullying is uncomfortable, especially when you've been bullied in school. Wasn't really thinking about it, I just wanted this done, goddammit!**

 **Okay, happy times now. So yes, this concludes Learning As We Go! I had fun writing in the vein of the different members of Sabertooth, even if the deadlines did make it stressful (I know the deadlines are just guidelines, but the dates are there for a reason, right?). I also managed to share a couple theories I've had about Sabertooth, and that's always worth celebrating. So for the final time in this story, good night from Nightlingbolt!**


End file.
